COLD FRONT CAME IN

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I mentioned saturday morning that another perfect Key West day was in the making. There was a cool breeze coming in off the ocean.

It was not a cool breeze. Turned out to be the beginning of a cold front. Saturday was cool. Sunday cold. Too cold. The high was only 68. Today it is cold, also. Temperature at the moment is 66 degrees. High however will be around 80. The rest of the week will be days at or near 80, with evenings around 70 degrees.

It is the beginning of Key West’s fall season. It did not begin slowly. It came almost overnight. Speaking of nights, I needed a quilt last night to keep warm.

To my dear friends up north, I appreciate you have snow already. Cold in the Keys is different. When you go weeks at 85 degrees and all of a sudden it drops to 75, you feel it. Seventy becomes very cold. The high 60s freezing. Our blood is thin.

One of the nice things about living in  Key West is that every weekend there is a new and different party. This week the power boat races. Long sleek expensive boats. Crews of several persons. Dangerous driving on the ocean.

Exciting!

The boats turn me on. Yesterday, I went over to the Truman waterfront to look at them. They were on display. Magnificent!

The sport is only for the rich or corporations. Reflects how much money goes into acquiring/making the boats and maintaining them.

I hustled over to Duval afterwards to catch a bit of the boat parade. A large crowd. Enthusiastic.

The boat races start wednesday and end next sunday. If you have the opportunity to watch, do it. An experience you will not soon forget.

There are sayings used to make a point. One is …..Is the Pope Catholic? Well, maybe not any more.

There is controversy in the Catholic Church. Pope Francis is trying to open the windows to let in the fresh air of change. Conservatives within the Church who oppose his efforts are doing everything to hold them closed.

A significant number of Bishops are at odds with the Pope. On issues such as gays, divorced persons being permitted to receive communion, etc. They are becoming increasingly vocal. Now there is talk of a schism within the Church. There has not been one in a couple of hundred years. Emotions run deep. One Church leader suggested the Pope is the anti-Christ.

There is talk among conservative Cardinals and Bishops of deposing Francis and replacing him with Benedict. Benedict resigned making way for Francis. However, Benedict remains within the Vatican walls. He lives on the Vatican grounds. Benedict was a doctrinaire. A hard ass. Church doctrine did not bend under him.

You thought only Republicans and Democrats fought hard.

The Bishops have come out of the woodwork in the past few years and are expressing themselves publicly in many areas such as abortion and birth control. I am not sure it is healthy.

What happened to peace and tranquility? What happened to love? Everyone fights.

Enjoy your day!

 

OUTBACK RIP OFF

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I generally eat at Outback once a week. I have always considered Outback good food at a good price. Last night I discovered the food is still good. However, the price is not. Outback has raised  prices regarding certain items. Perhaps deviously.

I generally order a prime rib. The middle priced cut. Like $16.95. Two vegetables or sides came with it at no additional charge. I always ordered steamed vegetables and a baked potato.

Last night, the steamed veggies and potato cost me an extra $7.95. An $8 increase basically. I was required to order them seperately. What previously had cost $16.95 was now $25. A thirty per cent jump in one shot.

Outback had a new menu. Items had been moved around. I discovered the change/increase before ordering. Was I to beat on the young waitress? I ordered and paid. However Outback has lost me as a regular customer.

Previous to Outback, I had been at Don’s Place and the Chart Room.

The remnants of Wednesday golf were still at Don’s. Don, Tom and Boomer. Hershel, also. We chatted. Bocce primarily. Bocce season is upon us once more. We play tonight. It will be my first time in the new season. I missed last week because of the grandkids and Wizard of Oz.

The Chart Room walls were splitting. So many people! No question. It is the height of the season.

I talked with Peter and Emily.

I spent the afternoon writing next week’s KONK Life column. The Resignation of Pope Benedict XVI. Written from my perspective. Suggesting the whys involved. My premise was to the effect that the Catholic Church is presently facing its own hell.

Sequester/sequestration is all over the news. When does it actually go into effect? Today at midnight? Tomorrow at midnight?

Neither.

I researched the question. Turns out the answer is two pronged. It involves the President signing and a fixed time for his signature.

Sequestration goes into effect when the President signs a document so stating. The President is required by law to sign the document no later than 11:59 friday evening.

Interesting.

The Republican and Democratic leaders are meeting with the President tomorrow during the day. Last minute again. Even if they agree to something, I assume it will have to be approved by the House of Representatives and the Senate. Can’t be done prior to 11:59 friday night. Most of them are not in Washington. They are home. Our legislators only work three days a week. Tuesday through thursday.

A contemporary died yesterday. Van Cliburn. He was 78. I am 77.

No one had heard of Van Cliburn till he won the 1958 Moscow Competition for concert pianists. He was 23 at the time. A big deal winning. The U.S. and Russia were at each other’s throats. It was surprising an American won.

Van Cliburn received a ticker tape parade up Broadway when he returned home to the United States. Though his modus operandi was conservative piano playing, he acquired rock star status world wide.

I sometimes think I am losing it mentally. In yesterday’s blog, I said Syracuse was playing Connecticut last night. Syracuse did not play Connecticut. They did not play anyone. There was no game scheduled.

Tomorrow the Key West Lou Legal Hour. My TV/internet show. Ten in the morning my time. Join me. As usual, it will be terrific. Such modesty! But it is good!

Another crazy week. I shall be hitting on sequestration and the Pope, of course. Plus the hot air balloon accident in Egypt, Michelle Obama, the results of the Italian election, the Walmart employee who ate one bag of Oreos and has been charged with a felony, E. Howard Hunt’s death bed confession, the claim Budweiser being watered down, and more.

Please join me.

The show is available on television from Key West north through Miami-Dade County on Comcast Channel 87 and U-Verse Channel 19. Also on the internet world wide. www.tvchannel19.com.

Enjoy your day!

 

 

 

 

SOMEWHERE OVER THE RAINBOW…..

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It is all about Oz! The Wizard of Oz!

Key West High School is presenting the show next week. Grandson Cameron has a lead role. Strawman. Grandkids Robert and Ally are all excited. Practicing away. They are munchkins. I am excited. Cannot wait to see them perform!

I stayed in last night. State of the Union time.

The State of the Union has become ritualistic. The President comes before both houses of Congress and spells out his agenda for the year. He also comments on the health of the Nation. Congress sits and listens. The President’s party smile. The opposition look grim. Contrast Boehner and Biden last night behind the President.

The best part of the State of the Union from my perspective is the gate keeper who enters the Congressional Chamber and speaks in a loud voce, just short of yelling…..The President of the United States!

What did I learn last night? The President’s program is ambitious. He needs only to accomplish a small part for it to be a great year. Jobs are key. I am for infrastructure. I wish the Republicans would bend on  this point. It is a sure way to jobs and positive cash flow.

The Republicans have to give some. Being the opposition does not mean opposing everything. On occasion, cooperation for the good of the country is required.

Senator Cruz was making news on all the TV channels this morning. A new Senator. He has the good fortune of being on the Committee passing judgment on Hagel. Cruz went a step too far in tuesday’s discussions. He accused American war hero Hagel of cozying up to Iran. Not just absurd. Stupid! Even McCain came to Hagel’s defense.

Comcast is in the news big time this morning. My favorite internet provider. Said with tongue in cheek. Comcast bought out GE’s 49 per cent interest in NBC and Universal. Comcast now owns all 100 per cent of NBC. Comcast is also the largest provided of internet services. They became the same in 2002 when they bought AT&T Broadband.

Two thoughts.

First, I hope Comcast does not screw up NBC as it has its Key West internet service. Sometimes top management becomes too distant from its people in the trenches.

Second, is this purchase a step too far? Corporations like Comcast get larger and larger. Just like the banks did. At some point too big to fail? I sometimes think banks and major corporations are our shadow government.

Friday is two days away. My TV/internet show. The Key West Lou Legal Hour. The show is developing well. Interesting topics. Like the Pope’s resignation, the State of the Union message, wrestling and the Olympics, a Vienna Museum nudist showing, an Akron police chief and DNA, and more.

Join me friday morning at 10. I guarantee you will enjoy!

Syracuse basketball again tonight. Seven o’clock. It is being carried on ESPN. I am not sure whether I will be watching from bed or John’s Big Ten Sports Pub.

I hope Syracuse wins. I am not sure this season. Every game is a nerve wrecker.

Enjoy your day!

NORTH DAKOTA OIL BOOM…..WOW!

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Very interesting evening last night at the Chart Room!

Che and Peter engrossed in conversation in the corner with a couple from Las Vegas. Dorothy and Doc in for a drink. Mary bartending.

Me, I met Kevin from North Dakota. What an education I got! Learned so much! I want to share every morsel with you.

Kevin owns a small company that manufactures drill bits. He sells world wide. He is on vacation in Key West with his wife Sheila. First time. They love it!

He and I really got into North Dakota. Recall news over the past couple of years of building an oil pipeline running from Canada to Louisiana. Build or not to build the issue. Environmentalists strongly against it. The pipeline was an issue in the recent campaign.

North Dakota is presently benefiting from an oil boom. It would benefit even more if the pipeline were built. The pipeline would create thousands of good paying jobs up and down its length in the United States..

Here is what Kevin told me.

Young men just out of high school are earning $100,000  a year. Work a 60-70 hour week. Employed as roughnecks.

Wal-Mart is not know for generous wages. Wal-Mart pays its stock clerks $17 an hour.

MacDonald pays $15 an hour with a $300 sign up bonus.

There are presently 3,500 unfilled jobs. People are coming from all over to fill them. Kevin told me he sees many Florida plates.

Kevin lives in Williston. Five years ago it had a population of 15,000. Today, 50,000 and growing.

The United States is in an economic recession. We need jobs. Plain and simple. To build/extend the pipeline to Louisiana would create a ton of jobs. Good paying ones.

It is the eternal clash. I was an environmental attorney. I understand the importance of protecting our lands from damage caused by corporate greed. However on occasion the pendulum must swing when there is a greater need. In this instance, jobs!

The rest of my yesterday was not as exciting as my conversation with Kevin. I did the dentist thing again. Will be doing it for a while yet. Pain still there. However, minimal. Read a small news piece in the Key West Citizen about a Senator Stephen R. Mallory. From Key West. He as a US Senator in the 1850s. Came the Civil War, he went the other way. Joined the Confederacy where he served as Secretary of the Navy. Mallory Square is named after him.

The python hunt ends monday at 5. 1,500 hunters involved. Through last friday, a total of 50 pythons killed. Does not seem to have been worth the effort.

Pope Benedict XVI is retiring at the end of the month. I find his retirement strange.  I do not buy the age/health argument. Last Pope to retire was around 415 AD. I think it has more to do with the ongoing Vatican Bank investigation involving money laundering. Time will tell.

The Olympics have decreed wrestling will no longer be one of its sports. Beginning with the 2020 Olympics. What are they going to replace it with? Foosball?

I did my blog talk radio show this morning at 7. Still not enough people calling in. I had one this morning. It was over the Pope’s retirement. I am considering trying a new time. If it does not get enough call ins at a later time, then it is me. I would not have been cut out to be a blog talk radio host.

Enjoy your day!